Gun carriage



C; K. WOODMAN GUN CARRIAGE Aug. 16, 1949.

4 She'ts-Sheet 1- Filed April 30, 1945 3' 3 721/622 far C/mres K Mac/man1949- I c. K. WOODMAN V 2,478,995

GUN CARRIAGE Filed April 50, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 16, 1949. 5. K.WOODMAN GUN CARRIAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 50, 1945 fizz/6n forCharles K Woo a'marz Allg- 1949- c. K. WOODMAN 2,478,995

GUN CARRIAGE Filed April 30, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 [In/en fo 1" CharlesK Woodman By h 8 At t 6y Patented Aug. 16, 1949 2,478,995 GUN CARRIAGECharles K. Woodman, Beverly,

United Shoe Machinery Corporation,

Mass., assignor to Flemington, N. J a corporation of New JerseyApplication April 30, 1945, Serial No. 591,133

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to carriages upon which such an article as a gunmay be transferred from one point to another, it being especiallyadapted for raising the gun-mount from a surface upon which it rests, asthe deck of a vessel, supporting it upon wheels for its travel, loweringit again to the supporting surface of a firing platform, and there.securing it for firing.

It is an object of the invention to provide for the attachment of thecarriage to the supporting surface in its lowered relation by meanswhich will effectively resist the shock of gun-discharge, and theoperation of which will not be interfered with by the entrance of dirt.In the carriagebody, a positioning member, preferably in the form of a.sleeve, is rotatable, and by this member a spindle is rotatable, as by asplined connection betweenthe two. By the positioning member, thespindle may be turned so that a head upon it is adapted to enter adeck-socket, after which it may be further turned for engagement withsaid socket. In the latter position, the rotation of a clamping membermay be caused to move the spindle longitudinally, as by threadedengagement between the spindle and. the clamping member, to efiect finalclamping engagement. The threaded elements are so located in thecarriage that dirt and moisture are not liable to enter between them,while the socket in the supporting surface and the co-operatingspindle-head may be of such a character that the presence of dirt willnot affect them. An actuating member arranged for manual operation isjoined to the clamping member by ratchet mechanism, so its action may betransmitted to said clamping member in short, effective strokes; and byemploying a reversible ratchet the actuating member may be caused bothto produce clamping engagement of the spindle-head with the socket andto free it therefrom.

In the accompanying drawings, one of several possible embodiments of theinvention is -illus trated, 7

Fig. 1 showing my improved carriage in side elevation and in firingposition;

Fig. 2 is a similar partial view with the elements in towing position,the standard of the gun-mount being removed;

Fig. 3, a top plan view, the upper portion of the gun-standard beingsectioned;

Fig. 4, a rear elevation of parts removed;

Fig. 5, an enlarged central vertical section, taken through the meansfor securing the carriage to its supporting surface;

the carriage, with Fig.6, a horizontal sectional detail through thereversible ratchet of the securing means; and

Fig. 7, a top plan view of the deck-socket which the securing meansengages.

At Ill appears the standard of a mount for a gun, the legs of whichstandard rise from a loasering [2. Attached to the lower face of thebase is a spider I4, screws l6 passing through the basering and beingthreaded into each of the five arms of the spider near their outerextremities and into lugs l8 'cast upon the bottom of the spider-arms.The lugs are at substantially equal distances from the center of thespider, and supply a uniform five-point hearing when the spider supportsthe gun upon the deck. The arms 20,

20 of the spider diverge outwardly to the rear at equal angles to thecenter-line of the carriage, and their screws secure to the top of thebasering l2 a transverse bar 22 of a rear wheel-assembly A. The frontspider-arms 24, 24 are c0nnected at '25, and upon this connectingportion is formed an extension 26 along the center line of the carriagebeyond the base-ring, while, to said ring by the'screws of thespider-arms 24, 24 a forwardly and upwardly extending bracket 28 issecured. The base-ring l2, the bar 22 and the bracket 28, because oftheir fixed attachment to the spider l4, may be considered as portionsof the carriage-body. In the spider-extension 26 and in the bracket 28are vertically alined openings to receive the pintle 29 of a forwardtruck orlimber B.

Mounted to turn in horizontal alinement in the bar 22, and spaced fromeachother at their inner ends, are spindles 3t, 30. Fixed to the outerex-- tremity of each spindle is a short arm 32, the two arms occupyingthe same angular position about the common axis ofthe spindles.Projecting outwardly from the end of each arm is an axle 34, upon whichis rotatable a wheel 36. The adjaeentinner ends of the spindles arefast'in the opposite spaced side walls 38, 38 of an arm or. handle 40,of much greater length than the arms 32, 32. The three arms furnish acompound bellcrank-lever which, in the position appearing in Fig. 2 ofthe-drawings, places the arms 32, 32 vertically, their length being suchthat the lugs l8 are clear of the supporting surface, while the arm 40extends outwardly from the standard. The rear of the carriage is thusready for moving upon its wheels 36 from one position to another. Tomaintain the lever L with its wheels 36 in this towing relation, thereis at the outer side of each handle-wall 38 a horizontal projection 42,lying in an arcuate slot 44 in one arm 46 of a double 3 latch l yokedtogether at 48, and with the yoke pivoted to brackets 50 rising from thebar 22. At the outer extremity of each slot is an offsetportion 52, eachoffset and the corresponding wall of the slot being urged toward theco-operating projection 42 by an expansion-spring 54 interposed betweenthe bar 22 and an arm 56 projecting inwardly from the yoke of the latch.When the handle 40 is shifted outwardly to the position of Fig. 2 fortowing, the projections ride along the lower walls of the latch-slots,and, when said projections have arrived at the ends of the slots,

the offsets are carried up by the spring to the opposite sides of theprojections. The bellcrank-lever L and the wheels which it carries arethus held against angular movement about the axis of the spindles 30.

lie directly beneath the fulcrum-spindles 30, so the tendency of thelever to be displaced angularly by the weight of the carriage and gun isminimized. When it is desired to lower the carriage-body upon the wheelsto the deck for firing the supported gun, the latch-arms are depressedby pressure on the latch-yoke 48. the projections 42 from theslot-offsets 52, and the handle may be held to swing forwardly and thearms 32 rearwardly, the carriage-body descending so the lugs I8 restupon the deck and the wheels 36 being entirely relieved of the weight ofthe carriage and gun. As appears in Fig. 1, the projections 42 are nowat the inner ends of the slots 44, the lever-arm 40 extends inwardlyalong the carriage and then rises close tothe gunstandard I0. This arm40 is preferably formed 1 of sheet metal, concave at its inner side toreceive the adjacent portion of the standard. It may thus lie in suchclose proximity to said standard that it adds little to the horizontaldimension, and entirely avoids interference, as the gun is turned intrain, with the cartridge-case-bag, which is hung between thegun-standard and the gun-cradle. This is true, even when the elevationis high and the bag is carried close to the standard. An outwardlycurved U-shaped hand-hold 60, at the top of arm 40, furnishes meanswhich may be more readily grasped to manipulate the lever L.

Fulcrumed at 62 on spaced side walls 64, 84 of the truck B is abell-crank-lever L. This lever is of sheet metal, U-shaped in transversesection, with the arms of the U lying outside the truckwalls 64.Extending below the fulcrum is a double short arm 66, carrying ahorizontal axle 68, upon which between the sides of the arm a forwardwheel I is rotatable. A substantially longer arm 12 of thebell-crank-lever L extends in towing relation (Fig. 2) upwardly andforwardly, and has a hand-hold by which it may be grasped. The latch I4for retaining the lever L is similar to and acts in the same manner asthe rear latch Z. It is U-shaped, being pivoted at I6 outside thetruck-Walls 64 at the rear of the lever-arm 66. Each arm of the U isprovided with a slot 18, having a retaining offset 80, the ends of theaxle 68 being movable along the slots and holding the lever L in towingposition when the oifsets are drawn up to receive and retain the axle.This is effected by tension-springs 82 extendingbetween the arms of thelatch and the ends of the fulcrum 62. When the lever L is released fromthe latch by pressure upon a footplate 84, the axle 68 travels forwardlyalong the slots 78; the forward end of the carriage sinks to the deck orother supporting surface; and the lever-arm 12 is positioned similarlyto the arm In this latched position of the bell-crank-lever L fortowing, the axles 34' This frees 4 40 of the lever L (Fig. 1). It firstclosely parallels the carriage, its transverse depression receiving thetruck 64 and the bracket 28. It then rises along the standard I0, whichis received by its concavity, so, as with the lever L, interference withthe cartridge-case-bag is avoided.

In its lowered relation for firing the supported gun, the carriage issecured firmly by a clamping device C (Fig. 5), adapted to enter asocket S set in the deck D and to be drawn quickly into clampingrelation. The socket has as its chief characteristics a cylindricalbarrel 86 fitting a deckopening, a lower flange 81 which holds thesocket against upward displacement, an upper opening 88 which iselongated horizontally, as appears in Fig. '7, and a lower recess 89which continues downwardly the opening 88 and then is extendedhorizontally at opposite sides, it terminating in vertical shoulders 90,as, which furnish stopsurfaces. In the horizontal overhang 9| of thesocket above each shoulder is a depression 92. As best shown in Fig. 5,the spider I4 has at its center a cylindrical opening 93, at the bottomof which is a shoulder 94 surrounding a reduced opening 95. Within thespider-opening 93 is a positioning sleeve 98, with its shouldered endI00 stepped upon the spider-shoulder 94, and provided with an extensionI02 lying within the spider-opening 96. There is some clearance betweenthe sleeve and the wall of the spider-opening, so said sleeve may beshifted laterally. Upon the upper extremity of the sleeve above thespider is a hand-wheel I04. Splined at I05, to move longitudinallythrough the sleeve-extension I02 while compelled to turn therewith, isthe spindle or stem I08 of a socket-engaging member, at the lower end ofwhich is a head H0. This head is formed similarly to the socket-opening08, it being adapted to pass freely through this into the recess 89 andto be turned therein until arrested by contact with the shoulders 90.The spindle I08 is threaded at II2 into a clamping member II4, rotatablewithin the sleeve and resting upon an antifriction step-bearing I I6 atthe bottom of the sleeve. Rotation of the clamping member will cause thethread II2 to either raise the head when it is within the recess 89 forthe clamping of the carriage, or lower said head to release it from itsclamping engagement. To permit the member II4 to be rotated effectively,it has a cylindrical upward extension H8, which is surrounded by anactuating sleeve I stepped at I22 on the body of the clamping member.The upper end of the extension is threaded to receive a cap I2Iextending over the sleeve I20. This retains the sleeve in place for itsoperation, yet permits it to be removed when desired. A packing-ringI24, occupying a peripheral recess in the extension IIB, yieldably fillsthe space between the eX- tension and the sleeve, and prevents theentrance of dirt and water to the bearing H6 and to the thread H2. Thesleeve I20 has a lateral extension I26 upon which is pivoted at I28 ahandlever I30, through which the sleeve may be rotated. This hand-levermay be turned down to a horizontal position limited by a stop-surfaceI32 on the extension I26 to give the maximum leverage, or may be raised,as appears in Fig. .5, and yielda'bly held in an inactive position by aspring-plunger I34 carried by the extension. To allow relatively shortoscillations of the handlever to be transmitted to the actuating sleeve,there is carried in a bore in a casing I35 projecting from the sleeve apawl I38, urged inwardly by an expansion-spring I for engagement with aperipheral series of teeth I42 about the extension H8 (Fig. 6). The pawlis shown as having a straight face I44 engaging the teeth to rotate theclamping member H4, and an opposite inclined face I46 which slips overthe teeth. On the stem I48 of the pawl is a finger-piece I50, by whichsaid pawl may be drawn out against the force of the spring I40, and apin I52 set in the stem located in a slot I54 in the end of the casingI36 in either of the two positions 180 apart. Thus, the pawl-surface I44may be effective to turn the member I I4 in opposite directions.

When the gun-carriage is arranged as appears in Fig. 2 of the drawings,ready for towing from one point on the deck of a vessel to another, fromwhich the gun is to be fired, the head III! of the socket-engagingmember lies within the opening 96 in the spider I4, wholly clear of thedeck. This was effected by lifting the sleeve 98, which carries all theother elements of the clamping device C, through the hand-wheel I04 andretaining it in its inactive position by a latch I60 pivoted on thespider and forced beneaththe lower edge of the sleeve by anexpansion-spring I62. The bellcrank-levers L and L are so swungoutwardly, that the carriage has been lifted upon its wheels 36, 36 and10, the ratio of the short arms of the two levers to the longer armsgiving an advantage in leverage which renders the elevation easy. Theoffsets of the slots in the latches Z and 14 have, respectively, engagedthe projections 42 and the axle 68 to retain the levers in towingposition. With the carriage thus raised, it is wheeled over a socket Sin the deck D with the head IIO of the engaging member over thesocket-opening 88. By

successively depressing the rear and forward latches, the levers arereleased, and thelugs I8 allowed to sink to the deck. The concaveleverarms 40 and I2 now so embrace the gun-standard I0 at its oppositesides, that they project but little from it, and there is nothingtointerfere with the movement of the gun in train. With the carriagelowered, the sleeve 98 is freed from the latch I60, so the device Cdescends, with the head IIO engaging the socket S. If necessary, bymoving the sleeve 98 laterally in the spider and by turning thehand-wheel I04, the head is brought into registration with thesocket-opening 88 and enters the recess 89. By turning the hand-wheelclockwise, the head is brought into contact with the socket-shoulders90, 90. Now, by oscillating the hand-lever I30, with the pawl I38 setfor effective engagement with the ratchet-teeth I42 in a clockwisedirection, the clamping member H4 is turned to cause its thread to liftthe spindle I08, forcing the laterally projecting portions of the headIIO up against the socket-overhang BI and into the depressions 92. Thus,the socketengaging member may be caused to clamp the -carriage to thedeck as firmly as is desired. At the same time, because of the presenceof the head in the socket-depressions 92, said head is locked againstaccidentally rotating away from the shoulders 9| to decrease theclamping force. When the carriage is to be again moved, the pawl I38 isreversed and the hand-lever I30 oscillated, this turning the clampingmember I I4 oppositely to that for securing the carriage and causing thehead IIO to leave the socket-overhang 9|, freeing it from thedepressions 92. This release havin been accomplished, the head is turnedby the hand-wheel I04 back into registration with the opening 88, whereit is stopped by engagement with shoulders I04 at the sides ofthe recess89.

Then the device C maybe lifted by the handwheel, until the latch I60 isforced by its spring beneath the sleeve 98, holding the head withdrawninto the spider. The lever-arms 40 and '12 are swung out from thestandard I0, and the latches Z and I4 secure the lever-arms 32' and 88,with the wheels 36 and 10 upon the deck and the carriage raised readyfor towing.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a gun-carriage, a body adapted to rest upon a firing platformhaving a socket fixed therein, means for securing the body to theplatform comprising a spindle, a positioning member connected to saidspindle and mounted to rotate in said body, said spindle and sockethaving 00- operating shoulders which are brought into locking relationby rotation of said spindle in the socket, and means for drawing saidspindle toward said body whereby the latter is held against theplatform.

2. In a gun-carriage, a body adapted to rest upon a firing platformhaving a socket fixed therein, means for securing the body to theplatform comprising a spindle, a positioning member splined to saidspindle and mounted to rotate in said body, said spindle having ashouldered head fitting within a complemental recess in the socket, aclamping member threaded on said spindle, and means for turning saidclamping member to draw said spindle toward said body whereby the latteris held against the platform.

3. In a gun-carriage, a body adapted to rest upon a firing platformhaving a shouldered socket therein, a spindle having a shouldered headshaped and arranged to enter the socket and upon being turned to belocked against withdrawal from the socket, a positioning memberrotatably mounted on said body and splined to said spindle, a clampingmember carried by said positioning member and connected to said spindle,a driving member for operating said clamping member. and a ratchetmechanism connecting said driving member and said clamping member.

4. In a gun-carriage, a body adapted to rest upon a firing platformhaving a shouldered socket therein, a spindle having a shouldered headshaped and arranged to enter the socket and upon being turned to belocked against withdrawal from the socket, a clamping member connectedto said spindle, said member being operable to draw said spindle towardsaid body to hold the latter against the platform, a positioning memberfor turning said spindle into and out of locking relation to the socket,said positioning member having a shoulder on which said clamping memberis rotatably supported, said positioning member also being mounted torotate upon said body and movable therein to retract said spindle to aposition in which its head is above the platform, and a latch mountedupon the body for holding said positioning member and spindle in theirretracted position.

CHARLES K. WOODMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,416,740 Neighbour May 22, 19221,782,610 Green Nov. 25, 1930

